Today I’m sharing my top pics for off-leash dog parks in Nanaimo, including Invermere Beach, May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park and Cable Bay Trail! There are also some other more fenced-in off-leash dog areas but I’m not a fan of those and won’t be mentioning them in this post but you can find their locations online easily. 

Our first stop takes us to stunning Invermere Beach dog park, located on the scenic shores of North Nanaimo. This picturesque park is accessed from the bottom of Invermere road where it becomes a cul-de-sac and is street parking only. Be warned, there is a pretty large set of stairs leading down to the off-leash beach which you will have to hike back up! Once you reach the beach you’ll be greeted by an open space for your dog to enjoy what I consider doggy-heaven. I always check the tide charts to make sure there is enough sand to play on, otherwise, you’re just on rocks. When the tide is out be careful of some of the rougher areas with clams and barnacles that can cut your dog’s paws. Have a look up in the nearby trees and you’ll most likely spot some bald eagles, super cool.  

Also located in North Nanaimo is May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park which I will be referring to as Pioneer Park. This is a haven for active and energetic dogs in the heart of North Nanaimo and my local favourite. Pioneer Park is a dream come true for dogs and owners alike as it’s tucked into the city and provides plenty of space for dogs to run, jump, and play. You’ll often run into other dogs here, it’s pretty popular, especially on weekends. I like to go in the quiet times in the morning and later evenings and have built a nice community with the regulars and their dogs! To access the park, you can enter either off Dickinsen road or off of Schook road. The park had a fence installed this year which encloses it from the traffic of the nearby roads. There is one spot where your dogs can sneak out onto the fields near where the water tap is for dogs so just be mindful of where your dog is when you reach this spot on the southwest side.

Pioneer Park and Invermere Beach are such huge bonuses to living in North Nanaimo if you like to be active with your dog,  besides everything else I mentioned in my video highlighting this neighbourhood! It’s known for its waterfront properties and beautiful residential areas but location is everything and imagine living just a stone's throw away from these fantastic dog-friendly destinations!

Lastly, we make our way to the breathtaking Cable Bay Trail, a hidden gem for dogs and their owners. The drive is about 30 minutes out of North Nanaimo but totally worth it. You can access the trailhead by driving to the end of Nicola Road in Cedar. This trail, surrounded by lush greenery and towering trees, provides a fantastic opportunity for your four-legged friends to stretch their legs and explore nature's wonders. The walk to the ocean is just over 2km but is an easy walk for just about anyone Once you reach the end, the trail opens up to a really nice ocean playground with plenty to explore and frequent marine life sightings. Even though the walk down is easy enough make sure you have decent footwear for making your way down the rocks to the ocean bed when the tide is out, and also for climbing back up! Cable Bay Trail is situated near popular neighbourhoods like Cedar and Yellow Point, offering a rural and serene living environment with larger properties and acreages. You and your furry companion can experience the best of both worlds—secluded trails and a peaceful neighbourhood.

And there you have it! We've explored three incredible off-leash dog parks in Nanaimo: Invermere Beach, Cable Bay Trail, and May Richards Bennett Pioneer Park. If you’re a dog lover like me, I know you want to ensure you have some great places to take them. As someone who used to live in North Vancouver where outdoor recreation is huge, Nanaimo has pleasantly surprised me and isn’t lacking places to explore with my dogs!

Hammond Bay is one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods in Nanaimo. Want to know why? Keep Reading! I’ll be covering why this area is so desirable such as the incredible ocean views, and if you stick around until the end I’ll share a HUGE frustration people have with Hammond Bay.

Hammond Bay Road stretches along the northern coastline in Nanaimo until it intersects with Island Highway going West. The neighbourhood itself is located on the northeastern tip of Nanaimo between Departure Bay and North Nanaimo, but its boundaries are a bit ambiguous. For the sake of this video, I will be using the Vancouver Island real estate boards parameters. 

When considering where you want to live in Nanaimo or anywhere, location is very important and you’ll need to consider what’s important to you and your family. Hammond Bay is ranked quite high on the scale for a quiet place near parks and good schools but low if you’re looking for amenities and walkability.

If beach access and nature are high on your list, this can be a great location for you. Neck Point Park is situated here and is where Simon and I did our Polar Bear dip! You can walk the just-under 3km loop around the park in around 45 minutes and the vantage point gives you awesome ocean views as well as views of “Shack Island”. There are public washrooms and picnic tables if you want to spend the afternoon outdoors as well. 

Just down from Neck Point Park is another popular destination for locals and tourists alike, Piper’s Lagoon Park. This is another great place to come during the day, both when the tide is in and out. During low tide the Page Lagoon get’s a bit mucky, so if you plan to walk there be prepared for your shoes to go missing. It’s a great place to see otters and other marine life as well as bird watching.

When you are at Piper’s Lagoon Park you will see that there are homes built at the edge of the lagoon on Place Road and Lagoon Road. The homes with beach access are some of the most sought-after as there are few walk-on waterfront homes in Nanaimo. Many in Hammond Bay are cliffside making these property unique and pricey, for that reason alone.

Where this neighbourhood is located you will notice that you will be using your car to get to places a bit more. Roads can be hilly and your amenities aren’t in this area, albeit not far away either. Think of this neighbourhood as more residential with your shopping and restaurants being about 5-10 minutes away by car, unless you’re going to Piper’s Pub just off Hammond Bay Road as you drive towards Neck Point. If you don’t have a car, many bus routes drive the long stretch of Hammond Bay road and will take you where you need to go, from downtown to the ferry terminal, to the mall.

Hammond Bay is home to one of the best French Immersion schools in Nanaimo, Hammond Bay Elementary or, Ecole Hammond Bay. Located just off Neck point park, this school is nestled into a quiet area and is one of 3 French immersion schools but is the only exclusively French immersion school. Side note- french immersion school placements are done by a lottery system here in Nanaimo.

Now for the reason you’re all really here- the views! Many homes in Hammond Bay are either built on the rocky embankments up from the beach or high up on the hilly terrain. Either way, there isn’t a lack of ocean views in this neighborhood making it some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Imagine living with the views on Gulfview Drive?

Even if the ocean isn’t directly in sight from your home, the drives from Golden Oaks Estates, which is a newer development, and the Glen Oaks communities for example make up for that. 

Hammond Bay in my opinion is a dream location if you’re looking to relocate to Vancouver Island as you’ll be reminded every day of its beauty.

I promised I would be candid and share ONE THING that drives me bananas about Hammond Bay and that is the cell service reception. I know I’m not alone. And Frankly, I don’t understand how it’s 2023 in this city and there is a huge zone with ZERO bars as you drive along Hammond Bay road. I’ve been completely lost and can’t pull up my GPS or even make a phone call and have just had to drive until I get to somewhere with 1 bar. Why?!

I love sharing my passion for living in Nanaimo since my move here in 2021. If you’ve landed on this video you might be in the same boat we were which is you’ve decided you want to live on Vancouver Island but aren’t quite sure where! If you’ve gotten as far as Nanaimo, I obviously can’t recommend it enough and you can learn more about the reasons I love it in this blog post!

But what are your other options? What do places that hug Nanaimo like Lantzville, Ladysmith and Nanoose Bay have to offer? Let’s dive in…

Lantzville

Drive North just out of Nanaimo, and you’re in Lantzville. The district is divided into two subareas, Lower Lantzville, which is the town center near the water, and Upper Lantzville, which is above the highway and incorporates the residential area known as “The Foothills” and also where you’ll find the Copley Ridge Recreation Trail, one of my favourite spots to hike.

Lantzville has a large population of retirees, so you’ll find this community strikes a nice balance of quiet living but with close proximity to the amenities of Nanaimo. Most of the homes were built before the 1960s into the 1980s and this is the kind of place you’ll want to be if you’re looking for a single detached home, without any large condo developments and a low rental market. Lantzville home prices now are steadily listed at a median price of $1.2Million dollars. 

In Lower Lantzville you’ll find a quaint little oceanside town with small businesses and restaurants including the Lantzville pub, which is a great spot if you’re looking to grab a bite with a view! There’s also the Winchelsea Golf Course and Huddlestone Park and Lantzville’s elementary school is Seaview Elementary.

The foothills in upper Lantzville is an ever-growing community which I touched on briefly in my new Nanaimo development videos. The location has prime ocean views, some of the most beautiful I’ve seen since moving here. But, you’ll be paying a pretty penny to live up there, think over 1.5-1.6 to well over $2milion. Because of the elevation, expect a bit of a windier climate with a bit more snow and fog in the wintertime. 

Nanoose Bay

As you exit Lantzville going north you get to a peninsula village called Nanoose Bay. Again, this is an area with an older population and resort-style communities such as Fairwinds, which is home to one of the best golf courses on Vancouver Island. People love Nanoose Bay for the outdoor recreation opportunities, like world-famous scuba diving at Madrona Point and Notch Hill Loop Trail. There are three marinas here making it a popular spot for boaters. If you’re picking up on the luxury note, you’re correct. Most homes here are custom-built and come with stunning ocean and golf course views, which are reflected in their pricing. Just check out any of these homes in the Beachcomber peninsula and you’ll see what I’m talking about. However contrary to Lantzville, you can find some townhouses and condos living here at a much more affordable price point.

Nanoose Bay is located between Nanaimo and Parksville and be prepared to have to drive to anywhere you need to go! One thing I will mention is that the cell service here is awful. There are so many pockets of dead service zones as your drive through Nanoose Bay, so beware!

Ladysmith

I’m going to take you now in the opposite direction to a town called Ladysmith. Just South of the Nanaimo Airport, Ladysmith has recently garnered some attention due to Pamela Anderson’s relocation to her hometown. She documented this on Netflix and her HGTV show “Pamela’s Garden of Eden”. Yep, that beautiful oceanfront home is located roughly 30 minutes from Nanaimo. 

It’s bigger than the two previous areas I mentioned in this video and although home prices have risen drastically throughout the years, you can find a nice range of modest family homes priced between $500-$700k. Of course, oceanfront homes will be much more than they would be anywhere else. 

People love the community of Ladysmith and I know many people who were born there and have stayed to raise their own families. There are larger grocery stores and chain restaurants but you will have to drive to nearby Duncan or Nanaimo if you want to go to the movies or shop at bigger stores for example. There are three schools here, Primary (k-3) Intermediate (4-7) and Secondary (8-12) and Ladysmith shares the school district with Nanaimo which is district 68.

Ladysmith is a great location in between two larger city centers on Vancouver Island and close to transportation like the airport which I mentioned and the Duke Point Ferry terminal. 

If any of these communities have sparked your interest make sure you get in touch!